EATING JUNK FOOD MAY INCREASE RISK OF DEPRESSION, SAYS A NEW RESEARCH
Times of india 28.09.2018
Eating junk food increases the risk of becoming depressed, a study has found, prompting calls for doctors to routinely give dietary advice to patients as part of their treatment for depression. In contrast, those who follow a traditional Mediterranean diet are much less likely to develop depression because the fish, fruit, nuts and vegetables that diet involves help protect against depression, the research suggests. The findings have come from an analysis by researchers from Britain, Spain and Australia, who examined 41 previous studies on the links between diet and depression. “A pro-inflammatory diet can induce systemic inflammation, and this can directly increase the risk for depression. Bad diet heightens the risk of depression to a significant extent,” said Dr Camille Lassale, the study’s lead author.
The analysis found that foods containing a lot of fat or sugar, or processed foods, lead to inflammation of not just the gut but the whole body, known as systemic inflammation. In that respect, the impact of poor diet is like that of smoking, pollution, obesity and lack of exercise.
“Chronic inflammation can affect mental health by transporting proinflammatory molecules into the brain, it can also affect the molecules — neurotransmitters —responsible for mood regulation,” said Lassale.
The research showed that poor diet has a causal link with the onset of depression and not merely an association. They did not find that their results were explained by people who are depressed eating more poor quality food, or that they were depressed to start with, she stressed.
“Poor diet may increase the risk of depression as these are results from longitudinal studies which excluded people with depression at the beginning of the study. Therefore the studies looked at how diet at baseline is related to new cases of depression,” Lassale said.
Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, a depression expert, said that if junk food did raise the risk of depression then an unhealthy diet was not just bad for the body but also the mind. “The chemistry in the gut is very similar to the chemistry in the brain. So, it’s not surprising that things that influence the gut might influence the brain too,” he added.
Added researcher Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, “This study provides evidence that eating a healthy diet can improve our mood and give us more energy. Increasingly, more GPs are recommending that their patients try to make sensible diet and lifestyle changes as part of a holistic approach to the management of chronic diseases because we know it may have a range of a positive effects on our patients’ physical and mental health.”
Agencies
Times of india 28.09.2018
Eating junk food increases the risk of becoming depressed, a study has found, prompting calls for doctors to routinely give dietary advice to patients as part of their treatment for depression. In contrast, those who follow a traditional Mediterranean diet are much less likely to develop depression because the fish, fruit, nuts and vegetables that diet involves help protect against depression, the research suggests. The findings have come from an analysis by researchers from Britain, Spain and Australia, who examined 41 previous studies on the links between diet and depression. “A pro-inflammatory diet can induce systemic inflammation, and this can directly increase the risk for depression. Bad diet heightens the risk of depression to a significant extent,” said Dr Camille Lassale, the study’s lead author.
The analysis found that foods containing a lot of fat or sugar, or processed foods, lead to inflammation of not just the gut but the whole body, known as systemic inflammation. In that respect, the impact of poor diet is like that of smoking, pollution, obesity and lack of exercise.
“Chronic inflammation can affect mental health by transporting proinflammatory molecules into the brain, it can also affect the molecules — neurotransmitters —responsible for mood regulation,” said Lassale.
The research showed that poor diet has a causal link with the onset of depression and not merely an association. They did not find that their results were explained by people who are depressed eating more poor quality food, or that they were depressed to start with, she stressed.
“Poor diet may increase the risk of depression as these are results from longitudinal studies which excluded people with depression at the beginning of the study. Therefore the studies looked at how diet at baseline is related to new cases of depression,” Lassale said.
Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, a depression expert, said that if junk food did raise the risk of depression then an unhealthy diet was not just bad for the body but also the mind. “The chemistry in the gut is very similar to the chemistry in the brain. So, it’s not surprising that things that influence the gut might influence the brain too,” he added.
Added researcher Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, “This study provides evidence that eating a healthy diet can improve our mood and give us more energy. Increasingly, more GPs are recommending that their patients try to make sensible diet and lifestyle changes as part of a holistic approach to the management of chronic diseases because we know it may have a range of a positive effects on our patients’ physical and mental health.”
Agencies
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